Li You sat in the yazhong, let go of his business, and thought about the affairs of tomorrow's court while roasting the brazier. Lu Yuanguang impeached him, and the Son of Heaven asked him to go to the palace to defend himself, so if he wants to go to the long-lost Wenhua Hall tomorrow, he must think about his lines in advance.

In fact, Ambassador Lu's remarks mean that Li You means, and the themes are Li You's themes, and Master Li has already drawn up an outline and conveyed it to Ambassador Lu.

However, the specific method, timing, and wording need to be grasped by Ambassador Lu himself, and it can be said that Ambassador Lu has done a good job, and he will not be detained at the table.

Just as Master Li was thinking about it slowly, a scribe from the yamen came to the door, "Master! The Xicheng Terracotta Division has a report! ”

This interrupted Li You's train of thought, and he raised his head and shouted, "Come in and talk!" ”

The scribe opened the curtain of the door and replied: "Master, the Xicheng Soldiers and Horses Division has just sent someone to report the news, the Tao is that there is a shortage of coal, and the price of coal has skyrocketed, almost to three or four times the price per catty last month!" ”

In the old days, the burning pestle in Jingjian City was mainly charcoal and firewood, but after three hundred years of felling, the surrounding forests became less and less, and during the period of Emperor Gaozong, inexplicably the city was closed to several counties around Beijing to close the mountains and cultivate forests, resulting in a large gap in charcoal and firewood.

Therefore, in recent years, the proportion of coal in the fuel used in Beijing has risen sharply, accounting for about four or five percent so far, and coal has also become an indispensable means of livelihood for millions of people in Beijing.

The surrounding area of Beijing is rich in coal, especially in the Xishan area, there are hundreds of coal kilns, with an annual output of nearly 200 million catties of coal, and the mountainous areas under the jurisdiction of Wanping and Fangshan counties are the main sources of coal supply in Beijing and Fangshan.

Nine gates of Beijing City, each with its own characteristics, this Beijing West Coal into the city is mainly from the west of the Fucheng Gate into the city, some large coal markets in Beijing City, coal shops are located inside and outside the West City, the West Plant of the Great Inner Salary Division is also located in the West City. Therefore, it was the Xicheng Terracotta Division instead of other Terracotta Divisions who sent people to report the coal market urgently.

After Li You heard the news, he secretly said in his heart, this Xicheng Soldiers and Horses Division is really filial piety, and he can actually think of notifying him quickly when he encounters such a thing.

The number of people in Lord Li's family far exceeds the normal five-grade standard (there are too many wives and concubines), and the public supply is really a drop in the bucket, and he can't count on it, so he can only do it himself.

His family are all southerners, and it is the first time that twenty or thirty people have spent the winter in Jingyicheng, and due to lack of experience, the estimated amount is wrong, resulting in not too much charcoal and coal in reserve.

The winter weather in this Beijing city is cold, charcoal or coal, there is a shortage all day long, otherwise the whole family will really suffer and suffer, or hurry up to grab a batch of hoarding is safer.

Li You immediately called Zhang San in and ordered: "You take two and ten sergeants to the Xicheng Coal Market to buy charcoal or coal, and transport two thousand catties to your home." ”

Zhang San was about to go, when he heard the old man shouting, "Slow!" When he turned around, he saw the old man standing up and patting the ashes on his hands, "Listening to the situation reported by Xicheng, coal seems to be in short supply, so I will buy it myself." ”

If there is really a tense situation, Li You is worried that Zhang San's domestic slaves will not be able to rob others, after all, there are too many powerful people in Jingyicheng.

In order to live a happy life in winter, Master Li gathered dozens of soldiers and prepared to go to Xicheng to grab coal. The scribe who reported the news witnessed the whole process, and stood aside dumbfounded, with a strange expression.

Li You stepped out of the door, accidentally caught a glimpse of the scribe's demeanor, and said strangely: "What else do you have to say?" ”

The scribe said the truth with a little fear: "The eldest lord seems to have misunderstood, the Xicheng Terracotta Division reported the news of the coal price, and he wanted to ask the eldest lord to deal with it and ask the eldest lord to play the imperial court." ”

His subtext is that the Xicheng Soldiers and Horses Division reported the news, which was uploaded and distributed on official business, not to let your old man hurry up and use public weapons to grab ......coal.

"Does this have anything to do with this hospital?" Li You asked suspiciously.

"Monitoring the prices in the market and preventing turmoil in the city is also the existing responsibility of the soldiers and horses of each city, and now it is under the control of you, the eldest lord, and you should pay special attention to the charcoal of the west city and the grain of the east city."

Li You was amazed in his heart, he knew that the Five Cities Terracotta Division had responsibilities such as public security, urban construction, and urban management, but he didn't expect that he would also be in charge of prices, and this responsibility was too miscellaneous. If in the time and space of the previous life, so many responsibilities were integrated, what a huge yamen it would be.

Although he was timid, because he had only been in office for two or three months, he was not familiar with the business, but Master Li's face did not change, and he coughed heavily, "Don't think wrong, this official is going to Xicheng to personally investigate the situation!" ”

"Yes, my subordinates know!" The scribe was only submissive.

Li You squinted at him and walked out of the courtyard. He had already made up his mind that he would send someone to inquire in the yamen to see if there were any rumors such as "Li Baixian is not familiar with business" spread.

It seems to be a trivial thing that happened inadvertently, but it is a good opportunity to test people, if there are rumors spreading, it means that this scribe is unabashed and frivolous, waiting to be cleaned up; If there are no rumors spreading, it means that the scribe is cautious and careful, and can be reused in the future.

Heaven or hell is up to the person. There is a saying in the previous life, character determines fate, and the most applicable place of this sentence lies in the relationship between the upper and lower levels. In the eyes of superiors, personality can really determine the fate of subordinates.

There are several relatively large places in the Jingyincheng Coal Market, and the locations are different. There are mainly outside the Fucheng Gate in the west, outside the You'an Gate in the southwest, and the coal market outside the Zhengyang Gate at the junction of the inner and outer cities. Among them, the coal market outside Fuchengmen in Xicheng is the largest distribution center of Xishan coal in Beijing because of its geographical convenience.

The place where Li You wanted to "visit" the coal price market was the coal market outside Fuchengmen, and as soon as his team entered the boundary of Xicheng, Commander Jiang of the Soldiers and Horses Division greeted him and went to Fuchengmen together. This attitude made Master Li more satisfied.

When passing by the Xicheng Soldiers and Horses Division, Li You also went in to rest for a while and warm up his body, and Commander Jiang took the time to introduce the situation to Lord Li.

It turned out that yesterday from the side of Xishan came to the news, there are a large number of miners to make trouble and stop, the momentum is not small, many coal kilns and mines have rested, so today's coal prices have skyrocketed, from the previous one tael of silver per 100 catties to three taels of silver per 100 catties, and it is still rising.

Miners call for a break, coal kilns shut down? No wonder the coal market suddenly became nervous, and Li You suddenly realized, but he still couldn't help but complain in his heart, explaining in the textbooks of his previous life that this was a case of the proletariat's early struggle against exploitation and oppression. It is a pity that without the guidance of advanced theory, the simple struggle of the proletariat is doomed to failure.

Commander Jiang continued to introduce the situation: "It is okay that the price of coal is high, but there seems to be a shortage of price and no market in the market, and many coal shops have made a sign that the coal is out due to the cut off of supply in Xishan, and it is impossible to buy coal with silver for a while." ”

"Winter is the peak season for coal use, how can the coal shop run out of stock, how can it be sold out so quickly, is it a profiteer hoarding?" Li You asked.

Commander Jiang replied: "My subordinates will have to investigate carefully in the future, and I am not sure if this is the case. ”

This coal market is located outside the Fucheng Gate. Li You and his entourage went out of the city from Fuchengmen, got off the sedan chair and looked up, and saw that the direction of the coal market was endless. There were also rows of large cars parked beside the road, but they were all empty.

Commander Jiang introduced to Master Li again: "The coal market is not a department store market like Chongwenmen, and it is never so lively on weekdays, but I am afraid that it will not even be able to reach the first ten percent in front of me." Today, these people probably rushed over after hearing the news. ”…,

In this cold winter, coal and grain are almost equivalent to each other, and they are absolutely rigid needs, so people can't ignore them.

Surrounded by his entourage, Master Li walked towards the coal market. The people of Beijing have a big vision, and after suddenly seeing the officials around them, they just casually avoid the road and make way, not as fuss and strange as in other places. This young official may have heard the news and came to buy coal, just like them!

There are dozens of coal shops in the coal market here, one or twenty large ones, forty or fifty small ones, and hundreds of millions of catties of coal are transported here from Xishan every year, and then sold from here.

Although Li You was dressed in an official robe, he did not disclose his status, he randomly chose a small coal shop, and before he entered the store, the shopkeeper came out with his men to greet him. Master Li simply didn't go in, so he asked at the door of the store, "The official wants to buy coal, do you still have it here?" ”

"It's really not a coincidence, the small shop is already sold out, so the master can go to another house and ask."

Li You did not embarrass this family, and ordered two ordinary coal shops in the coal market, both of which claimed to have been sold out.

In the end, Li You directly picked one of the largest coal shops in the coal market, a shop named Taisheng, to enter, and the answer he got was still about the same.

"Your Excellency, you're late, the coal industry in the shop is already out." So said the treasurer of Taisheng.

Bang! Li You slapped the counter abruptly and reprimanded: "What nonsense! It's winter now, and you must have stored a lot of coal here! How can there be a reason that there was news of miners calling for a break yesterday, and it was swept away in half a day today! ”

Taisheng's Ye shopkeeper replied: "Not really." ”

Li You sneered a few times, "I hope not." ”

Then he ordered to the left and right: "Search the backyard!" You don't have to go into the house, just see if there is coal in stock! ”

In this shop, there are 20 men and mercenaries, but where can they stop the officers and soldiers who have already drawn their weapons. Soon, more than a dozen people passed through the front hall and rushed into the backyard of Taisheng Coal Shop under the leadership of Jiang.

After only a few breaths, Commander Jiang came out of Houmi again and reported to Master Li excitedly: "You don't have to look closely, there is a lot of coal piled up in the backyard, and the visual measurement is about 100,000 catties!" ”

Hearing this, Li You looked at the shopkeeper Ye with a smile, and said sarcastically: "Is this a sold-out? What do you mean?

Shopkeeper Ye replied: "Those coals are already owned by the owner, and they are not for sale!" ”

"And whose coal does it belong to?"

Shopkeeper Ye struggled for a long time, but he didn't answer.

Li You shouted to the left and right again: "Profiteers hoard, speculate on the price of coal, and want to get ill-gotten gains, and this official will do the right thing for heaven!" Take this Ye shopkeeper back to the government for interrogation, and all the coal accumulated in the courtyard will be confiscated and transported away, and handed over to the Xicheng Terracotta Division for sale! ”

"Wait!" Shopkeeper Ye shouted anxiously: "The eldest lord Hugh wants to misunderstand, that batch of coal does have an owner, and it belongs to the Supervisor of the Great Inner Palace!" There are seals and paperwork of the stewards and eunuchs in the shop! ”。 ）